An antitrust court in Austria approved with conditions Facebook’s purchase of animated images platform Giphy, reported Reuters.
Facebook bought Giphy, a website for making and sharing GIFs, a type of animated image used often in social media and instant messaging, for $315 million in 2020 to integrate the operation with its Instagram photo-sharing app.
Related: UK Watchdog Orders Facebook To Sell Giphy Over Competition Concerns
Facebook, whose parent company recently rebranded as Meta Platforms, is challenging a ruling by Britain’s competition watchdog, which said it must sell Giphy because the deal would reduce competition between social media platforms and in display advertising.
Facebook said the Austrian ruling was the first time a court had reviewed the deal. The transaction is too small to be examined at a European Union level.
“The court did not prohibit the merger provided certain conditions were met,” the court said in a short statement on its ruling on the case brought by the Federal Competition Authority.
Those conditions included granting competitors access to Giphy’s image library for five years and helping set up “an alternative provider of a GIF library” within seven years.
“We are pleased with (the) Austrian court’s decision, which recognizes that together, Meta and Giphy would improve Giphy’s product for the millions of people, businesses, developers and API (application programming interface) partners, providing more choices for everyone,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Turkey Fines Meta $10.4 Million for Abusing Market Dominance
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Canadian Watchdog Launches Inquiry into Lululemon’s Greenwashing Practices
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Massachusetts Supreme Court Deliberates Ballot Redefining Gig Worker Status
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
European Commission Approves Nippon Steel’s $14.9 Billion Buyout of U.S. Steel
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Banco Sabadell Rejects Rival BBVA Merger Proposal
May 6, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI